ABANDONED
Cody McFadyen
Bantam
Thriller
ISBN: 9780553806953
One of the staples of thriller literature is the deranged killer. The more imaginative authors are able to use these madmen to take their readers by the hand and nudge them to varying degrees in the direction of the abyss of madness. In some cases, it’s a glance toward it; in others, a peek downward. And, in the most extreme, it’s a push forward when you reach the edge. ABANDONED by Cody McFadyen goes a bit further, dragging you kicking and screaming to the chasm and then giving you a hearty two-handed shove.
While this is only McFadyen’s fourth novel, his writing is possessed with a sureness and confidence that some veteran authors would kill for. This talent is beautifully displayed in ABANDONED, which features the return of Smoky Barrett. An FBI Special Agent, Smoky has had so much happen to her in McFayden’s preceding volumes that the mere whisper of her presence is enough to cause familiar readers to cringe. Her family murdered and her face terribly scarred (not once, but twice), one fears what will happen to our heroine next. But somehow, she finds the strength to soldier on. And in ABANDONED, she finally has a chance at happiness: she is in a relationship with the quiet and capable --- and very deadly --- Tommy; she has Bonnie, her adopted daughter, who is everything one could wish for in a child; and, separate from this, she has two secrets, one she keeps with Tommy and the other from him.
While celebrating the wedding of Callie, her team member, Smoky receives an enigmatic text message followed shortly by the abrupt deposit of a seriously injured woman into the midst of the festivities. The woman, a police officer, had been missing for seven years and is unable to describe what has happened to her in her current condition. Smoky and her team begin an investigation, one that uncovers what appears to be a clandestine service run by a criminal mastermind who, for a significant fee, will make a troublesome wife disappear without a trace. That is, until such time as she can legally be declared dead and insurance proceeds can be collected. The provider of the service is detached, precise and amoral. And heaven help the man who reneges on the agreement.
Smoky precisely and methodically leads her team through the investigation, discovering similar occurrences as they slowly move in on the fiend. Then, just as they seem to be on the verge of honing in on him, the unthinkable happens. Smoky has to make a terrible choice, one that will change her and the team forever, even as the identity of the mastermind provides the biggest surprise of all.
I haven’t lived what one could call a sheltered life by any stretch of the imagination, but McFadyen manages to make me cringe. Naturally, I loved every word, every sentence. McFadyen’s storytelling prowess and plotting ability as displayed in ABANDONED would be enough to recommend it; however, he is also a remarkable writer who brings considerable literary skills to the desk. The result is a work that, while horrifying in (many) places, skillfully slices into and out of that which is life, good and bad. Be fairly warned: the trip into the abyss is long and frightening...but worth taking.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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